RTE News Laptops

h2s · 29-09-2006 06:58PM #1

Did you notice the laptops on RTE News since the revamp recently?

Do they actually work or is it just for show? I have noticed that there is no furious tapping of keys at the closing credits, like there was when they had the monitor and full size keyboard.

Further look closely and you will see no cables coming from any ports on the back, including no power supply cable. It reminds me of the guitar miming on Top of the Pops. Now some of you will point out that there are probably running on batteries and wireless, hence the absence of cables, I don't buy that, RTE are not that clever.

Finally, why does the sports guy not have a laptop to play with, like Brian & Sharon?

Dave! · 29-09-2006 07:04PM

Good question!

More important question, however: what do the news people talk about when the closing credits are going on? They ALWAYS talk, and I wanna know what it's about! :mad:

"That was RTE News, good night

awwr I'm f*ckin WRECKT!!! Heeuhhhrr, give is a birruva roide, will ye? Well f*ck off den ye lihuhhl TICK! :mad: Some people have no f*ckin manners nowadays!"

Ruu_Old · 29-09-2006 07:17PM

DaveMcG wrote:

Good question!

More important question, however: what do the news people talk about when the closing credits are going on? They ALWAYS talk, and I wanna know what it's about! :mad:

"That was RTE News, good night awwr I'm f*ckin WRECKT!!! Heeuhhhrr, give is a birruva roide, will ye? Well f*ck off den ye lihuhhl TICK! :mad: Some people have no f*ckin manners nowadays!"

Haha

"Bloody wrecked, who's up for a pint?"
"I'm not going anywhere with you, ya prick ya"
"Fine, fúck you weather boy!"

faceman · 29-09-2006 07:19PM

h2s wrote:

Did you notice the laptops on RTE News since the revamp recently?

Do they actually work or is it just for show? I have noticed that there is no furious tapping of keys at the closing credits, like there was when they had the monitor and full size keyboard.

Further look closely and you will see no cables coming from any ports on the back, including no power supply cable.
Cables would only look untidy onscreen. Still tho, laptops serve no purpose on the news!

superdudeman007 · 29-09-2006 07:21PM

I've been in RTE and seen a bulletin go out live.

They talk usually talk about what's been on the show or reports that have been cut (There could be 15 reports lined up for the Nine O'Clock News even though only a few will go out. If there's a crash or they run out of time they cut or add reports). OR they have a chat about a mishap during the show - keep in mind it is RTE!

But the laptops couldn't be for show. If you turn your TV up a bit you can hear the hard drive clicking away! Also I've seen Anne looking into the laptop screen any time the autocue has crashed in the last while.

RTE should just get a plain set and stick with it for more than the usual 3 years. The current one is irritating already and it's only been there a month! The last one was falling apart on the air and the one before that was purple for some reason. Why don't they just go for a plain studio, normal desk (like the one they're using in Prime Time) and a CGI background? Then wneh they revamp the only thing they have to change is the lighting etc.

luckat · 29-09-2006 07:24PM

Maybe they're high-tech wireless type laptops? And as for purpose: they could be running the script, carrying notices such as "hurry it up, you langer, the ads are in five seconds", saying a big story has broken and the Crumlin broken milk-bottle tragedy will have to be dropped, and a million other things.

superdudeman007 · 29-09-2006 07:24PM

faceman wrote:

Cables would only look untidy onscreen. Still tho, laptops serve no purpose on the news!

Well you could see microphone cables for guests dangling under the desk with the last look and no one cared.

Also the laptops were the only option because the new desk isn't wide enough to put monitors on the inside. (It's recycled - It was used by ITV Cental in the UK in the late 90s. They just put wood effect stuff on it over the blue paint)

h2s · 29-09-2006 07:27PM

I'd like a set up where you could see a bit more of the women rather than just a head and shoulders.

By the way, where is Una O'Hagan, I think she's hot. Sharon is good too, but there's something about Una.

J.R.HARTLEY · 29-09-2006 07:58PM

is it just me who prefered the PCs sunk into the desk where the cameras couldn't see them but the news people could?
the whole " oh look i've got a laptop everyone, i must be important" thing smacks of the mid 90's not 2006 when half the student population have laptops.

Telefís · 29-09-2006 09:07PM

Yes, that is the biggest problem as far as I'm concerned - laptops are so pretentious and gimmicky, and serve no useful purpose only to act as a distraction to the viewer, as well as get our backs up by plonking the back arse of a monitor in shot: it's so bloody ignorant.

The laptops are indeed operational, and are tied in with the central news system in the Newsroom proper - they contain everything from running orders, to the length of VTs, to news snippets coming in on there wires (only useful during a major breaking story/special event).
They are powered by their batteries, and operate wirelessly.

Up till now the monitors were siimply sunk into the desk, as the BBC also recently reverted back to, acknowledging the folly that is laptop usage in news presentation. But RTÉ wanted to be seen as cutting edge and kewl - it doesn't wash.

Una has temporarily given up Six One due to personal circumstances, but should return in due course. Sharon is only filling in for a year or two.

As for what newscasters talk about, we tend to forget that they're also sitting there twiddling their thumbs for the majority of the bulletin when VTs are being played, so in fact they really do have very little to talk about by the end. At the beginning it's usually a case of "blah blah blah" (indeed Eileen Dunne has been caught saying that) or any other innane statement, as it's difficult to time a proper conversation leading up to a cue, whereas at the end they are more likely to speak naturally - usually chat about the last few seconds of the bulletin, "I should have handed that over to you more quickly" etc etc. Hence why they often giggle to each other towards the end - generally about how contrived or how naturally they handled the last few seconds, or the content of the final report.

J.R.HARTLEY · 29-09-2006 09:07PM

Telef&#237 wrote: »

The laptops are indeed operational, and are tied in with the central news system in the Newsroom proper - they contain everything from running orders, to the length of VTs, to news snippets coming in on there wires (only useful during a major breaking story/special event).
They are powered by their batteries, and operate wirelessly.

now i'm no technophobe, but at least the old paper script with running orders couldn't run out of juice or breakdown mid broadcast, could you imagine the newscasters look of utter mortification if they got a BSOD mid bulletin

Telefís · 29-09-2006 09:17PM

Well that's just it, and why they're so ridiculous - the paper scripts and running orders are still used! Indeed when an autocue crash occurs (a daily event with RTÉ), it's the paper script that's turned to - not the laptop!

That's what's so bloody stupid about the whole thing - they're simply a gimmick on regular bulletins. They serve some use for rolling news, but virtually none at all for formatted bulletins. As ever, it's still the trusty director earpiece and a paper script that gets one through any change of circumstance, not a shiny silver toy.

Milktrolley · 30-09-2006 10:11PM

The desk should have been adapted so that monitors could be included. I know they've only 7 x 7 metres to work with (sigh) but if it's something that's that noticeable and bad, then they should have done something about it. Of course, you could apply the same logic to the feck-ups which occur every other minute :rolleyes:

They probably wanted to show them off though, as has been mentioned. That was my first impression when Aengus got the ball rolling a few weeks ago. Although it's pretty desperate when it gets to the stage when that's what you need to glamourise. That said, I think it's fair to say they are becoming less noticeable - Eileen often shoves it off to the side so it's not always on-screen.

mickd · 30-09-2006 10:19PM

I wonder do they work, I saw breaking news being read from printed script on RTE News . On News 24 the laptops are used to good effect with breaking news from reuters being delivered by the news readers instantly. The paper script looks anicent in comparison

Telefís · 01-10-2006 04:35AM

I disagree - paper is effortless and totally natural. By contrast, a news story being read off the other side of a monitor, on television, is patently ridiculous. Why not just cut the laptop output on screen so we can read it for ourselves?!
It's achingly contrived in most instances.

By contrast, sunken desk monitors from which newsreaders can read give the impression they're reading from sheets on the table - it makes perfect sense. The lack of laptop clutter also offers many more shot possibilities and aids in speedy picture composition in fast-developing stories. Laptops intruding in shot just are nasty full stop. Hence I'm also glad they're to one side on Nine as Milktrolley says - some concession at least. But also an acknowledgement of how utterly useless they are for a bulletin like Nine - completely pointless.

And to be fair, News 24 regularly use paper from the printer they have in studio: printed text is often faster. Paper can also be referred back to so much more easily for ad-libbing - essential for developing situations. A quick glance and a newscaster can pad out a good few seconds totally naturally instead of scrolling and clicking back on a computer.

lostexpectation · 01-10-2006 04:45AM

the question is do people see newscaster as journalist working on stories themselves.

01-10-2006 05:15AM

Obviously Dobs does be saying o Sharon"I wanna punch you in the babymaker"

colm_mcm · 01-10-2006 09:09PM

maybe they're all designing new graphics. they haven't changed them for nearly a month now

Dyr · 01-10-2006 09:30PM

Is it just me or does bryan dobson look like a grown up version of Martin from the simpsons

superdudeman007 · 18-10-2006 04:17PM

At the weekend the sports guy's laptop was blocking the camera view and you could see the main anchor's laptop under the over-shoulder graphic. A few times you could see Anne's hand in shot as she reached for her script :rolleyes:

irishgeo · 19-10-2006 12:29AM

all we need now is a sony bettery to go on fire mid show it would be priceless .

Seen brian dobson in the flesh and he was pissed out of his head. he was so drunk nobody could understand him when he presented some prizes in the local pub.

ill never forgot the time the green cgi screen used on the old news2 at 11 went on the blink. the presenter was left sitting in the dark for about 30 secs.

good old rte news i must watch more of it.

superdudeman007 · 27-10-2006 05:07PM

irishgeo wrote:

all we need now is a sony bettery to go on fire mid show it would be priceless

Hopefully taking Dobbo and Sharon with it

h2s · 27-10-2006 05:14PM

irishgeo wrote:

Seen brian dobson in the flesh and he was pissed out of his head. he was so drunk nobody could understand him when he presented some prizes in the local pub.

LOL I would love to have been there to see that.:D

superdudeman007 · 08-11-2006 06:19PM

lastnight at the end of six one you could hear Sharon talking over the clsoing music. Then her mic faded back up and you could hear "God! Sorry! I didn't -" and the show ended.

TerrorFirmer · 08-11-2006 06:25PM

Bambi wrote:

Is it just me or does bryan dobson look like a grown up version of Martin from the simpsons

HA

_Kaiser_ · 08-11-2006 11:30PM

It's rare I watch RTE News but I too instantly thought "gimmick" when I saw the new laptops.

And what is the whole intro sequence supposed to be of?

Theyd be better off paying more attention to limiting the ever-present mistakes on air (yes I'm aware Sky, BBC etc have them too but it doesn't seem as frequent).. mics coming on the wrong time, video feeds not being ready on cue, wrong captions being used, that just makes the whole thing look amateurish..no matter how shiny the new laptops are!! :rolleyes:

popebenny16 · 09-11-2006 12:59PM

And what is the whole intro sequence supposed to be of?

I was wondering that myself. Is it something to do with being inside a clock?

It better than morning Irelands music though, which sounds like a keyboard being thrown down a well.

superdudeman007 · 09-11-2006 08:24PM

The opening sequence is designed so everyone can make sense of it in their own way - I guess the idea is it starts as a closed shell and starts opening as the title sequence rolls - every click/turn/whatever symbolises all the "work" that goes into the bulletins. When everything is in place, the reflection of the RTÉ News logo appears on the black yoke. But I guess it is a bit pointless - I still don't understand all the feathers unfurling etc.

Anyone remember the time at the end of Six One when Sharon forgot Joe Stack's name? It was just a few seconds before the end of the show, and Sharon says "And Anne will be here with more news at Nine. But for now from Bryan, ... , emmmmm, (Long silence), (really fast)From Bryan, Joe, Myself and all the team goodnight and do take care God I nearly forgot your<MUSIC>". Not that it was anything new at all...

AdMMM · 10-11-2006 06:00PM

I never knew that so many people paid such close attention to what I would consider to be minor details!

superdudeman007 · 10-11-2006 07:12PM

€150 a year for this?

europerson · 10-11-2006 08:39PM

At the end of tonight's Six-One, I think I saw what looked like a cable coming out of Brian Dobson's laptop. Notice too how he always has the screen back so far, and how he always closes the laptop at the end of the programme.

RTE News Laptops

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